Recap: San Jose vs. St. Louis
Sports Network | November 07, 2008
San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Ryan Clowe scored twice in the third period and then tallied the game-winner in the shootout to lift San Jose to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues at the Shark Tank.
Joe Thornton and Rob Blake also scored for San Jose, which remained perfect at home this season (8-0-0) and has won six straight games overall. Evgeni Nabokov allowed four goals on 29 shots but was injured on the final play of the game and limped off the ice.
Keith Tkachuk, Lee Stempniak, Andy McDonald and David Backes scored for St. Louis, which is winless in its last four games (0-3-1). Ben Bishop, a 6-foot-7 goaltender, made 39 saves in the losing effort.
The score was tied at the end of a furious third period and the teams remained deadlocked after the overtime session. Through the first three rounds of the shootout, each team tallied once and the extra round began. The hot-handed Clowe converted his chance and then Patrik Berglund was stoned by Nabokov as the Sharks celebrated the win.
"A lot of times, when I get in there on the shootout, I like to deke to my backhand, but he's such a big goalie with such long legs, I thought I'd try to get him moving laterally and kind of open up under his blockers," said Clowe. "It was nice."
However, as the Sharks bench skated toward Nabokov, he was clearly injured and remained on the ice in pain. He was helped to the locker room and was favoring his lower body as he gingerly left the ice surface. Replays appeared to show that Nabokov stretched awkwardly in an effort to stop Berglund's attempt.
"We're certainly disappointed, but we had some guys who competed pretty hard tonight and I'm sure it was a very entertaining game for the fans," said Blues head coach Andy Murray.
Trailing 2-0, the Sharks cut their deficit in half on Thornton's second goal at the 9:24 mark of the first period. Patrick Marleau passed from behind the net near the left post to Thornton, whose snap shot from atop the crease lit the lamp.
Over seven minutes into the second stanza, the Sharks knotted the score while on the power play. With Barret Jackman in the penalty box for hooking, San Jose worked the puck around the perimeter before Blake held control above the right circle. Blake then wound up and fired a blazing slap shot that deflected of the stick of the defender McDonald and into the net.
McDonald, though, made up for the miscue at 7:56 of the third period when his third goal of 2008-09 put the Blues back on top. He streaked down the left- wing side with the puck, circled behind the net, faked a stuffer at the right post to get Nabokov out of position and lifted the disc over the netminder.
Clowe's seventh goal only 67 seconds later created a 3-3 tie. Strong forechecking by Jeremy Roenick allowed the Sharks to retain puck control along the rear boards and the disc went back to the centerpoint for a shot by Blake. Bishop made the save, but he couldn't control the rebound and Clowe buried it.
The Blues regained the lead shortly after at the 10:38 mark. Backes batted a rebound out of midair and chopped down on the puck, forcing it over the goal line.
With only 1:39 remaining in regulation, Clowe struck again to make it 4-4. Clowe, from the lower right half-wall, passed back to the near point to Brad Lukowich, who sent the puck back to Clowe for a give-and-go goal at the right post.
Both teams had several chances in overtime, but the goaltenders kept the puck out of both nets and the contest went to the shoo tout.
The Blues built a 2-0 lead with goals by Tkachuk and Stempniak before seven minutes had elapsed in the opening period.
The Blues fell to 1-5-1 in their last seven games and are now 1-2-1 on the road this season...San Jose has won six straight and 10 of the last 11 games against the Blues... The Blues were 1-for-6 on the power play and the Sharks finished 1-for-8 with the extra skater...Attendance was 17,496.
